THE HORSE IN HEALTH AND DISEASE 



PART I 

 ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY OF THE HORSE 



CHAPTER I 

 CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ANIMAL BODY 



DEFINITIONS AND CLASSIFICATIONS 



Veterinary science is a systematized knowledge of the struc- 

 ture, functions, derangements, and methods of preventing and 

 treating diseases of domestic animals. It is a more inclusive term 

 than veterinary medicine, which is restricted to the art and science 

 of medicine as applied to domestic animals. 



When the study of a subject so comprehensive as veterinary 

 science is begun, there are many words to be learned that are new 

 to most students. This is necessary because nearly all of the medi- 

 cal sciences must be drawn upon as a basis for the work. Further- 

 more, the language of medicine differs materially from that in 

 ordinary use, which alone is a sufficient reason for introducing at 

 once definitions of the terms that must be frequently employed in 

 the subsequent pages. Most of the unfamiliar words will be de- 

 fined when the subject to which they particularly apply is dis- 

 cussed. Definitions of the terms upon which the work as a whole 

 is based follow: 



Anatomy is that branch of science which deals with the struc- 

 ture of living things. Some knowledge of gross anatomy must 

 have been possessed by the earliest scientists, for a crude dissection 

 of the animal machine was made then as now when carcasses were 

 prepared for food purposes. 



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